Empoli Football Club has confirmed the return of Polish midfielder Szymon Zurkowski from Spezia, according to an official announcement on their website.
The club statement read, “Empoli Football Club informs that we have reached an agreement with Spezia Calcio for the temporary acquisition, with a buyout option, of footballer Szymon Zurkowski.”
Born in Tychy, Poland on 25 September 1997, Zurkowski began his career at MOSir Jastrzebie Zdroj before moving to Górnik Zabrze. He made his professional debut in November 2016 during a 4-0 win over Wisla Pulawi. The midfielder played a pivotal role in Gornik’s promotion to the Polish top-tier league, the Ekstraklasa, and soon became a key player for the team.
In January 2019, Zurkowski was signed by Fiorentina but remained on loan in Poland until the end of the season. He arrived in Florence that summer and played two matches before moving to Empoli where he made 23 appearances scoring two goals in the 2020-21 season. His performance contributed to Empoli’s promotion to Serie A.
In the following season, Zurkowski was again a standout player for Empoli, making 35 appearances, scoring six goals, providing three assists, and helped the team to secure their place in the league. He then returned to Fiorentina in the summer, before moving to Spezia in January 2023, where he made 27 appearances across Serie A and B.
At an international level, Zurkowski debuted with the Polish U21 team in September 2017 and was part of the squad that reached the finals of the European Championship held in Italy in the summer of 2019. He made his debut with the senior team in March 2022 during a friendly match against Scotland. In the same year, he was called up for the World Cup in Qatar.